Circling flames
by Synchronized Harmony
Summary: "There are few who know how the Wu sisters really started. Even now, there is no official account. Perhaps there never will be..." A story about the most notorious group of criminals in China, the Wu sisters. From their beginnings, to their defeat at the hands of the Masters council.
1. Beginnings: Cruelty

_The Wu sisters... a group of clouded leopards who call themselves after their last name. Although commonly beleived to be sisters, all three are orphans, so it is quite possible, although admittedly unlikely, that they are not blood relatives. Nevertheless, the bond between them is strong enough to benefit any sibling relationship. These criminals rely on strong teamwork to defeat their rivals and victims, accomplishing some of the most heinous acts in history..._

_-an excerpt from 'Criminals and villains: an exhaustive intrusion', an archive created in the Zan dynasty._

* * *

The Wu sisters are known by many names, none of them good. The most praise they ever get is fearful admiration from fellow criminals.

But it is ironic, that these most notorious of criminals, are also the most mysterious. Their origins are unknown, their beginnings shrouded. Some say they are devil-spawn, dropped from Hades itself, to bring pain and suffering to the world.

But Hades does not need to do that, the world does a good enough job of ruining itself, by itself. The true beginnings of these most extraordinary of criminals are nothing so spectacular, nor even unique. They shared the beginnings of a sorrowful mass of children in ancient China.

Street-children. Urchins. Not remembering even who their names were, except that the caretaker of the orphanage that they called home, referred to them as a group, and he called the group 'Wu'.

There were three of them, dirty, scruffy kittens, having nothing in the world except their names. But they kept their names close to their hearts. They were sisters in mind, even though their caretaker said otherwise. He said that they had all been delivered in the dead of night, on separate days, and that there was no evidence to suggest any relation. But they knew, in their hearts, that it didn't matter. They were sisters anyway.

Wing was the assumed second-eldest, but she wasn't a thinker. However, once she put her mind to something, nothing, and I mean nothing, was going to stop her from accomplishing her goals.

Wan was the youngest impetuous and resourceful. She would often act without thinking, which could be both a detriment and a benefit. She was by far the loudest of the group, often talking and chatting energetically.

And that brings us to the last and eldest of the sisters: Su. She was smart. She was the coldest of the group, cold and calculating, never entering a fight that she could not win. She was the brains, and that suited her sisters fine, especially since she was at least a year older than they.

One could always expect to find them together, they were inseparable. The caretaker had banded them together, and together they had stayed. Drawn together by their similar looks and positions, they had quickly bonded with each other. Their bond was first started, however, not of love, nor of friendship, but of survival.

For not all was well in the Dou'Gian orphanage. It was a regime, where it was the strong who ruled. And three, threadbare clothed, female kittens, were not strong. But, together, they were protected from those who would molest them, take advantage of their weakness and feminity.

Still, they were not invulnerable, even together. This thought was coursing painfully through Wan's mind, as she rushed through the halls and rooms of the orphanage.

THUMP! Wan was flung back to the floor, as she ran headfirst into someone else. She leaped to her feet again quickly, already apologizing, but found to her relief that she had only bumped into Wing.

"Oof!" the older cat exclaimed, whirling around, "Why don't you- oh, Wan... What's wrong?"

"It's Su!" Wan hissed frantically, "I can't find her anywhere! She just vanished, poof, intothin air... I'm worried!"

Wing pursed her lips thoughtfully, taking her younger 'sister' by the hand, and tried to comfort her.

"Wan, I'm sure she's fine. If she was hurt, we would have heard her wail by now..."

This only seemed to make Wan even more worried, and small tears appeared in her eyes. "But what if she's too far away?" she questioned miserably, "What if she... What of someone kidnapped her!? What if-"

"Who'd wanta kidnap HER?" Wing interrupted, still trying to reassure, "I'm sure that she's fine, you just have missed her somewhere..."

A loud wail interrupted the kitten, screeching over their heads. Both kittens winced, and Wan started to jump around unconntrollably.

"That was Su!" she exclaimed, "Wing, that was Su screaming!"

Wing's eyes no longer looked comforting, the expression replaced with a face just as concerned as Wan's.

"Well, don't just stand there!" she hissed wildly, "Let's go FIND her! Come on!"

The two kittens raced out of the room, and down the hall, heading in the direction of the wail. Young leopards can wail extremely loud, but Su, who hardly ever said ANYTHING, had never wailed before. The fact that she was wailing now, suggested that she had gotten herself into some deep trouble.

They stormed through the doors, finally reaching the room (more of a closet, actually) where the wails were coming from. Wan threw open the door, and gasped. This was just what she feared...

Su was hanging from from a rack on the wall, a mixture of wails and hisses coming from her mouth, swinging her newly-developed claws at the lion cub that stood in front of her. The lion cub only laughed cruelly, bouncing back a little, and striking little Su across the mouth, silencing her wails.

"That oughta teach ya to- AUUGHG!"

The lion cub' spiteful speech was interrupted by Wan, leaping on her back withough so much as saying a word. Her little claws were already tearing into the skin on the cub's back. The lion cub twisted, and pulled Wan off her back with a snarl, and proceeded to pummel the lynx into the ground, literally.

Wing watched the spectacle for a second in shock, but then a scream of pain from her younger sister snapped her back to reality. She snared, andleaped forward to help Wan, digging her claws in the cub's back, and biting viciously.

The lion cub batted them both back with her paws, but the two combined were too much for her. She turned tail and ran.

"I'll get you, Su!" she shouted over her shoulder, "I'll get you, and your sisters won't save you THEN!"

"Save it, Rui lin!" Su shouted after her, "That is never going to happen..."

The rest of Su's speech Rui never heard, as she was far away by then. Still, she could hear the tones of her voice behind her, burning her heart with anger. Those kittens! She would find a way to make them pay, make them ALL pay... And dearly, too...

"Are you alright, Su?" Wan asked breathlessly, clutching her knees, while simeltaneously trying to get Su off the wall.

"Here," Wing interrupted, "Let me do this..." she, with some effort, pulled Su from the wall, and placed her on the floor.

Su looked up, with a mixture of half-embarrassment, half-graditude... But mostly deep, icy anger. They could all tell that she was plotting already, and they all shuddered. When Su went out for revenge, you had good reason to be afraid. She did not repay in kind...

A bell rang, calling the children of the Duo'gian orphanage to the table, for the pile of unpalatable mush that was called lunch. Su was forced from her musings to go and eat, there were no saved lunches if you were late. She and the other children raced to their tables, trying to vie for the best seating.

The food was passed around, some mush made of rice and water. As the caretaker passed Su, she whispered to her.

"Su, we will talk. After lunch."

The tone it was spoken in did not bode well for the kitten.

They each ate their mush slowly, although none of them liked the taste, they couldn't help but want more after it was done. But there would not be any more.

The Duo'gian orphanage was not a purposefully cruel place, where the caretakers would starve their children. No, it was just penniless, hanging on from day to day by the sweat of their brows and the skin of their teeth. Once the children had eaten, they simply could not afford to feed them again.

The table was quiet, there was a 'no-talking at the table' rule in place. However, you could almost feel the hot glares coming from Rui lin, and the equally icy glare coming from Su. This did not go unnoticed by the caretaker, who shot a warning glare in their direction. Su took heed to the warning, and lost her icy eyes. Rui lin, however, either did not notice, or ignored the glare, and was awarded a small but humiliating smack across the head.

Su smirked triumphantly, and proceeded to rapidly eat her mush.

* * *

"But mith, I didn't do nothing!" Su exclaimed adamantly, "Rui lin's just a liar-"

"Hush, you!" the caretaker stood in front of the kitten, hooves on her hips, "Now, I know that Rui lin makes things up sometimes-"

"All the time..." Su mumbled.

"SOME of the time," the caretaker continued, "And if she said that you and your sisters were bullying her, I'd have to say that she may have been bending th truth. But" - she leaned down closer to the kitten - "her putting on the rack wasn't entirely unprovoked, was it?"

Su said nothing, only pursing her lips. Her legs swang to and fro on the stool she sat on, too short to reach the floor.

"Was it?" the goat in front of her asked again, sterner this time.

Su hesitated a moment, then shook her head slowly.

The caretaker sighed heavily, straightening up. "I thought as much..." for the first time, her tiredness showed in her voice. Years and years of slaving after hundreds of children had worn on her body, and now their squabbling was beginning to wear down her mind.

"Look, Su..." she said, shaking her head, "This may seem unfair to you, but we really can't afford to have squabbles between you children. Division is a disease, if you don't catch it, it will spread like wildfire. Do you understand?"

She looked up at the kitten. Su didn't seem to be listening. Thoughts were running through her mind...

_Like wildfire... wildfire... fire..._

"Su?" the caretaker asked softly, and waited for the kitten to look up, "Although this may not seem fair, you will have to be punished for provoking..."

That seemed to sink in, as Su's face instantly dropped.

"What?" the kitten whined, "Why? That's not fair!"

"We can't afford to have agruing in our orphanage..." the caretaker explained wearily, "Anyway, all you have to do is some dishes..."

"Dishes?!" Su seemed even more disgusted by this, "Like, with water? You know I hate that!"

"That's why you are going to be doing them, dear," the goat replied, "The're only dishes. Don't worry... Rui lin will be punished as well."

"I bet she doesn't have to do dishes..." Su whispered to herself.

* * *

"So," Wan asked, her legs swinging off the counter, "Why did Rui lin stick you on the wall?"

"I don't know!" Su answered vehemently, dashing another plate into dirty-looking water, "She's just a stupid bully..."

"Why'd you have to do the dishes, then?" Wan asked again, handing Su a rag, "That doesn't seem fair to me."

"It doesn't seem fair to ME, either," Su replied, taking the rag and scrubbing the plate angrily, "I think that Miss what's-her-name likes Rui lin better. But I'll get back at her, I WILL! And Rui lin too- aah!"

The plate slipped from the kitten's grasp, and flung across the room, heading towards the floor- then came back up again, as Wing caught it, with a grin on her face.

"Where you would you be without me, 'older' sister?" she asked good-naturedly, handing Su the plate back, "Here, hand me a rag. I'll help you with the dishes."

"Thanks!" Wu sighed gratefully, handing her younger 'sister' a rag, and the two cats quickly do the dishes together. Wan just watched, until Wing ordered her over.

* * *

Even with all three kittens doing dishes, it was still late by the time the pile of dirty plates, bowls, and spoons, were completely gone. The sky outside was darkening fast, and that suited the three exhausted kittens just fine.

Bed. That word does not normally seem so sweet! Wing and Wan flopped into bed quickly, not bothering to change, (they had no pajamas anyway) they fell asleep almost instantly.

Su, however, got into her small bed slowly, lying awake. How could she sleep? Her mind was burning with thoughts of revenge. Her brain attacked the problem like a warrior attacks her opponent, trying to find the most hurtful revenge possible.

Su did not think like most people, her mind, several said, was broken. But is was broken good. She set on something, and slid quietly out of bed, her padded feet making no noise on the dirty floors.

It was so easy to slide from her room, into the hall. Grabbing a torch off the wall for light, she made her way down the hall, towards the room where the older girls, Rui lin included, slept...

* * *

It was barely thirty minutes later when Su returned to her room, and shook her two sisters awake.

"Wake up!" she hissed frantically, "Come on, wake up!"

"Wha- what's going on?" Wan asked sleepily, blinking rapidly.

"Follow me," Su answered simply, leading her sisters by the hand, out of the orphanage.

"Su!" Wing whispered, "You know we aren't allowed out the orphanage!"

"I seriously doubt they'd mind," Su answered, a sinister grin on her face, "They have... More important things to worry about, right now."

"What do you..." Wing began, then drew silent. There was something different about Su, something wrong with her eyes. And she smelled like smoke...

"Su!?" she asked, a little harshly, "What have you done?"

Su looked up, a little surprised at her sister's tone. "The same thing you would have done, Wing," she replied, putting her paws behind her back, "I removed a threat. It's the way of the world."

Wing's eyes widened, hearing these words come out of a mouth far too young for them. What had happened to Su? And what had she done?

Suddenly, Wing's thoughts were interrupted by a flash of white and orange light, accompanied by heat. The orphanage's roof was suddenly bathed in flame.

The three kittens watched the spectacle with wide eyes. Two of them had horror and fright in their eyes, but Su... Oh Su! In her asymmetrically-colored orbs, there was no emotion whatsoever. On fact, if there was any spark at all, it was one of delight.

A scream came from the building, and a small smile even made it's way across the young leopard's face.

Wan started forward, but a small paw on her's stopped her. She looked around, and saw Su, holding on.

"Come on, let's go!" she hissed, her eyes glowing in the night, "We don't have anything there anyway!"

The two kittens paused for a short second, then turned and ran with Su from the orphanage. She was right, they had nothing worth saving there anyway.

All the same, the two older cats were horrified at what their older sister had done. How could she have been so cruel?

Little did they know, that in the span of only a few years, they would be just as cruel as she was.

The three leopards ran, the burning orphanage setting a harsh light in the background behind them.

* * *

_Author's note: This is the first chapter of what I believe to be one of the only stories actually about the Wu sisters. Please stay posted, but updates for this story will be few and far between._

_This story, to keep the K+ rating, had to have some parts removed. I was going to describe exactly what Su did to Rui lin. To those who wonder, I'll just say this: Oil+lion cub+fire...you do the math._

_Next up, the young Wu sisters begin to cope with life on the streets._

_Please review!_


	2. Beginnings: Hardship

_Dou'gian was not a proseperous town by any means, the streets populated with rabble and urchins. Orphans were common, even more so after it's orphanage burned down. A traveler to the area once remarked, "The whole place was very depressing, but the locals seem to bear it with stoic faces...It is pitiable, but that is their lot in life. nothing can be done to help them."_

_-an excerpt from "Towns and villages: a Historian's Handbook" A reference created in the Xan dynasty._

* * *

Dank winds, void of any freshness, wafted hazily through the backalleys and streets of Duo'gian. There was no respite, no break to be found for anyone unfortunate enough to not have the luxury of a house to sleep in. One was lucky to even have the shirt on his back, and infinitely more so to have someone to share it with him.

The small form of a canine, hardly twelve years of age, skirted and weaved unhesitatingly through the busy streets and alleys, ignoring the shouts of "Stop! THEIF!" behind her. The package that she now held, clutched to her chest, had been hard-won and hard-found, and she wasn't about to give it up.

She darted beneath a rickshaw, and clung to the undercarriage, a technique she used often to escape from unwanted situations. A small smile formed crookedly across her lips, hearing the confused cries of her pursuers.

The puppy hung there a while, till the rickshaw became of no use to her. Letting it go, she then dropped to the ground, and took a furtive glance around before darting away, off into the shadows.

She made her way down the maze of streets and passages, finding a familiar alley. It was almost more of an abandoned house than an alley, dark and dreary. In fact, one could almost imagine that it was a building, burnt down by some ancient fire. On closer inspection, this person could perhaps say that it was the charred remains of a half-burnt orphanage...

The puppy scaled a small pile of debris with astonishing ease, indicating extensive practice. Behind it, a small room, with charred walls, loomed.

The puppy approached, unafraid, but furtive, glancing this way and that quickly.

Suddenly, a small form dropped from the blackened ceiling, and the puppy bared her teeth at the intruder.

"Well, aren't you the bold one," the intruder said, in a slightly mocking tone, "Now, stop that snarling, or I'll make you!"

The puppy clutched her package closer to her chest, still with lips curled. She eyed the intruder cautiously. It was smaller than she, a kitten of about her age. The puppy's neck hair rose intimidatingly, as the kitten shot a hungry look at her package.

"You do nuffin," the puppy replied, speaking at last, "I don't take 'strucions from a teeny cat!"

The kitten didn't appear phased, only smiling slightly.

"Well then, in that case," the feline grinned, "Why don't you GIVE something?"

The puppy cocked her head, confused. 'Huh?"

"Yeah, give something!" the kitten hissed, suddenly snarling, "Like that package!"

"NO!" the small canine barked, shielding the precious package with her body, "This is MINE!"

The kitten didn't reply, instead, leaping forward with a yell, small claws extended.

The puppy jerked back, and moved into a protective stance, fists balled. The kitten clawed sideways, but the puppy jerked backwards, and punched the kitten in the face. HARD.

The kitten groaned, and fell backwards, but twisted around, cat-like, so she landed on her feet, and back-kicked the puppy to the ground. The puppy lunged forward on all fours, driven by the canine instinct to close, to grab and to hold-

But her snapping teeth met with nothing, as the kitten nimbly leaped upwards, landing on the puppy's back, claws dug in, before leaping off and running towards the parcel, which the puppy had left safely on the floor. The smell of freshly-baked bread came from it, almost overpowering...

The kitten felt paws close around her tail, and she was jerked backwards, as the puppy began to draw her in, despite her flailing claws, paws, and teeth.

Soft footsteps invaded the scene, almost silent, and unnoticed until now. Both puppy and kitten looked up, the puppy's face contorting in rage, and the kitten's lighting up triumphantly.

Another kitten, older-looking and taller then the one that the puppy currently fought with, walked quickly up to the parcel, picking it up flauntingly. This new kitten turned her asymmetrically colored eyes on the puppy.

"Well...' her voice was deeper that the others, and far crueler, "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to leave things lying around?"

"Hey!" the puppy yelped, "That's min-'

Suddenly, two paws impacted the canine's face, halting her speech. The kitten on the ground had taken advantage of the puppy's disadvantage, and nailer her in the face, H-A-R-D. The puppy fell backwards, a small trickle of blood streaming from her nose.

Both kittens fled, before the puppy had recovered, their thin forms vanishing into the gloom of the dark alley.

The puppy, beaten, pointed her nose at the sky, and howled pitifully.

* * *

"Well, didn't I tell you that was a good idea?" Su asked triumphantly, her eyes proud, "And so much less work!"

"And so much more painful..." Wan remarked, rubbing her sore nose.

"Well, I thought it was a great idea!" Wing exclaimed, "But c'mon, let's eat already!"

"Easy for you to say, Wing," Wan whined, still chafing her face, "You didn't even do anything."

"That's because there was nothing for me to do!" Wing retorted, "T'wasn't my fault."

"No one said it was, Wing..." Su remarked coolly. She made a point of proper speech when she was talking.

"Now let's eat!" she said, rather loudly.

The appetizing smell of fresh bread filled the air, and the kittens ate ravenously. This was the best meal they had eaten in weeks, and they enjoyed every mouthful of it.

Food had been hard to come by, ever since... The incident.

None of the sisters ever talked about that day. It was just one of those things that you don't talk about.

But a lack of words did not stop the feelings and emotions that came, every time any of the sisters thought about it. For Wing and Wan, it was mostly shocked horror, horror that their sister could have done something so horrible, but more because she didn't show the slightest sign of remorse.

However, for Su, it was far worse. For her, it was mind-numbing, crippling guilt. She had not meant for the entire orphanage to burn down, but once she set the lion-cub on fire, she started running...

She had what could have been called friends in the orphanage. Friends which she murdered. So she hid her guilt beneath a guise of cruelty, until the guise became real.

But she told no-one all of this. She kept it strictly to herself.

Anyway, now all three sisters scoffed down as much of the delicious bread as they could, mindless of anything else.

Their physical condition had degraded somewhat, but they were used to not eating much. That didn't mean it did not bother them, as the rate at which they ate examplified.

Food was one thing, water was another, but clothes... Clothes were quite another. The sisters had always had a thing for not wearing rags, but clothes were very difficult to come by, for three penniless orphan children.

Of course, they didn't exactly have to buy it...

A raid on the clothes merchant was dangerous, as he actually had an indoor stall, and no orphan children were allowed in. When they planned their monthly/yearly raids, it always was a time of excitement and anticipation among the sisters, as they carefully mapped out every detail of the raids to come.

It was that time of year again, and it was now time that they got some new clothes. The unfortunate merchant on whom they had decided to visit was a feline of some kind. He was actually a lynx, but none of the sisters knew that.

* * *

Hunzai Li, the merchant, sat in his wooden chair, waiting for business. It had been a slow day, and it seemed that no-one had any need for clothes. Well, no-one that is, except for these wretched (and penniless) orphans and beggars. He could even see some now, some sort of spotted cat, three of 'em, outside the window.

He leaned back in his chair, and stretched his legs.

"Hunzai, me old boy," he muttered to himself, "You're going to rot, if you just sit here like this. You need some action..."

Suddenly, there was a pounding on the door. It sounded urgent...

Hopping off the chair, he rushed to the door, and looked out. One of those orphan kittens were out there, waving her arms frantically.

Oh. That's all. But it was kinda cute to see her jumping around like that, so he waved, and turned to leave.

"Mithter, the wall's on fire!"

THAT got his attention. He was out of the store in a flash, and rushed to the wall. One thing struck him about it. That it was most certainly not on fire.

Realizing he had just fallen for the oldest trick in the world, he rushed back to his store, and pushed on the door to open it.

It didn't budge. Not an inch. He pushed harder, and the door gave a little, as if something was pushing on the other side.

On the other side, Su and Wing pushed against the door with all their mights, trying to keep the merchant out of his own store. Wan rushed around the store, finding anything with weight, and piled it up in front of the door. Finally, they closed the latch.

The door was well and truly closed.

Once they had accomplished this, there was time to relax a little. There was no other way to get in, as the window was at least eight feet from the outside ground.

"We-... We did it!" Wan gasped, placing a last tome by the door.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Su said, in a loud salesman's voice, "The grand reopening of... Wu clothes store!"

The other two sisters laughed, and they each ran off, to find some clothes with they fancied.

On the other side of the door, Hunzai was NOT having such a great time. He hammered and kicked on the door, until his paws and feet were blue. He shouted till his throat was hoarse. He pushed till his arms ached.

It was all no good. He slumped down against the door, contemplating getting help.

Tell someone that a tiny orphan cat managed to fool a grown lynx, who was constantly bragging about his cunning.

No. That was just too humiliating.

It pained the poor cat, that there was some mangy orphan inside his store, helping herself to whatever she wanted. Well, she couldn't get out, at least. Not while he sat there.

"Hey, Hunzai!" a goose, an old friend of the lynx, called, "Having a day off, or something?"

Hunzai realized that him lying here must look pretty strange.

"No... No I'm not," he stammered, getting to his feet, "I was just... Looking at the sky!"

He looked up, to prove his point.

"Alright then," the goose replied, "See you around!"

"Yeah..." Hunzai murmured, still looking up. His eyes were fixed on an open window, eight feet from the ground. But he was a lynx, renowned for it's leaping skills... Could he make it?

No harm in trying.

He took a few determined steps back, and leaped upwards.

He got it! His large paws caught the windowsill, and he pulled himself over, until his head and shoulders were through the window. He could see the children that had locked him out from here, but he didn't think they had spotted him yet.

There were three of them, each rushing around the store, and holding clothes up to themselves, as if to see how it looked on them.

Clothes were one thing, where the more feminine aspects of the sisters would come out. They loved them. Of course, they wouldn't take any of these, (the bright orange hanfu that Su was holding certainly would stick out on the streets) they still liked to feel them all, and see them all.

Hunzai watched their antics for a while. They weren't ruining the clothes, they were just looking. But they HAD locked him out of his store.

He pulled himself fully into the window, and dropped down. THEN the orphans noticed him, and with a squeal, they raced away from him.

He gave chase, following them around the racks of clothes, over the racks of clothes, UNDER the racks of clothes...

"Well, I wanted some action..." he thought to himself.

Eventually, he managed to corner all three. They each had their teeth bared viciously, their claws stretched...

He crossed his arms, smirked, and walked up closer.


	3. Beginnings: Kindness

_"The tradepost of Hunzai Li was an almost permanent fixture back then. I still remember it, that lynx with his freindly smile, and those three ragamuffin children with him. Oh, they were scrawny, but they were adorable too..."_

_-Quote from "Mother Tia Naira, an elderly's perspective", an auto-biography of a goat by the same name._

* * *

The three children looked up with barely concealed fright at the large feline in front of them. He was almost twice their height, and from their perspective, he looked very fierce.

"What have we here?" he asked, his arms still crossed, "What are you three doing in here, and locking me from my own shop?"

"We wouldn't have done it if you allowed us to just walk in," Wan pointed out, although she was shaking like a leaf.

"Quiet!" Su admonished sharply, then fixed Hunzai with her piercing assymetrical gaze, her eyes boring holes in his.

The lynx took a step back, astonished by the depths he saw in this child's eyes. They spoke volumes... And the volumes were not good.

"Who are you?" he asked, more serious this time, leaning down and looking intensely. He was met with no response, so repeated his question.

"Who are you? Tell me your names, children!" he almost shouted, harsher this time.

Instead of the verbal response he wanted, he received a sharp scratch across his face by a terrified cub, and he leapt back in pain and fury. He was on the verge of charging at them, and giving them the thrashing of their lives, when-

"Su." the largest, and presumably oldest kitten stated, her voice calm.

"What?" Hunzai asked, confused, studying the child before him. She looked scared, but her voice was so threateningly calm...

"My name? You asked my name," the kitten repeated, "My name is Su."

"Oh," the lynx said, somewhat sated. "And you two?" he addressed the remaining cubs.

"Wing," one stated quickly, obviously afraid.

"Wan," the smallest kitten whimpered, refusing to meet his eyes.

The lynx leaned back. What odd names!

"Do you have a last name?" he inquired, then added with an accusatory air, "Or are you orphans?"

Su, the eldest, drew herself up. "Both," she said, traces of arrogance on the fringes of her voice, "Our last name is Wu. And we are orphans."

Again Hunzai was shocked. What kind of orphan talked like that? And what was wrong with her eyes? It wasn't that they were a different color... It was that they were boring into his soul... Looking into it with a kind of broken sanity that made perfect sense.

They scrutinized his soul for flaws...

And they devoured it.

Shaking himself away from her eyes, he took another step backwards, pondering the three kittens before him.

"What am I going to do with you?" he wondered out loud, "I think you deserve a better punishment than simply being thrown out... Not after locking me out of my own store..."

"You ain't gonna do nothing to us!" Wing suddenly yelled, scurrying towards the door, with an astonishing speed for one so small. Su and Wan rushed after her, as she pushed the door open and fairly flew out down the road.

"Hey!" Hunzai yelled, making a flying leap after the fleeing children, but they were too fast... As his fingers closed on air, he pushed up and grabbed again with desperation. He wasn't quite sure why he wanted these children so badly, but he didn't question it now.

His final lunge caught ahold of silky fur. Success! He pulled the kitten back, just in time to see Su and Wing dissapear down the street.

"Lemme go!" Wan, held firmly by the scruff of her neck, exclaimed. "Lemme go!"

"I'm not about to do any such thing... Er... Wing?" Hunzai replied.

"Wan," the kitten bawled, mewling plaintively at the top of her lungs.

"Stop that racket!" the older feline instructed firmly, dragging Wan back into the store. He sat her onto a chair, and kneeled down to her level.

The poor kitten was terrified, small tears rolling freely down her face.

"There there," Hunzai whispered, in a motive-unknown attempt to comfort the child, "I'm not going to hurt you..."

Wan sniffed, and looked up, into his eyes. "You can't do this! My sisters will rescue me!" her tone spoke of the highest of confidence and regard. She truly believed that, with all her heart.

It was such a pity that Hunzai would have to break the cruel truth to her.

"No they won't," he stated bluntly, "Those street urchins only think about themselves. They might regret leaving you here, but..."

He leaned down, and tried to look comforting for his next words.

"...they won't risk their own safety for you, I'm afraid."

Wan shook her head emphatically. "You're lying! They'd come back! They will!"

"Will they?" Hunzai asked, touched by this display of childlike innocence and naiveté before him. "Then I shall wait for them with you... And you shall wait for them in bed," he added, noting the rapidly declining arc of sunlight over the horizon.

Wan looked confused, so he helped her by picking her up around the middle, and placing her in the bed at the back of the store.

"Goodnight," he whispered, placing himself on the floor by the bed. He wasn't about to have her escaping in the dead of night, taking his savings with her.

Wan did not take his advice, remaining bolt-upright on the soft sheets. She was petrified, sleep could not be further away from her.

* * *

Hours passed into the night. The eerie night-breezes rattled the branches against the walls, creating a slight, uneven tapping noise. The moon waxed overhead, casting it's silvery light through the small window, and spilling it into the room.

Night is beautiful, in a subtle, ominous way. The stillness is absolute, the only sounds being the singing of moving wind. Stars overhead rain their light down from the heavens in a gentle trickle, their beauty infinite and distant. The occasional cloud wafts before the moon, lighting up it's edges in a blaze of silver glory.

It was a sincere shame then, that the kitten Wan was bathed in the midst of this beauty, and was completely oblivious to it. Still she sat upon the bed, her ears straining to catch the slightest noises through the darkness. Beside the bed she sat on, Hunzai had drifted off into a shallow doze, the soft noises of sleep issuing from his throat.

At least... So it seemed.

If one was to look closely, he might catch sight of an opaque green glow beneath the lynx's eyelids, a sign of the brooding awareness that lay within.

* * *

A scratch was all that heralded their arrival, nothing more. An observer, watching their smooth, sinuous grace as they alighted the tree branches leading up to where their sister was held, would have no inkling of the difficulty that the two had in planning this.

Su's mind was filled with a wild, thrilling excitement as she climbed, leaping from branch to branch with audacity and skill that would put trained artists to shame. Her small claws gripped the branches tightly, whilst her thoughts were focused on other things. Namely, her sister.

Revenge was secondary on her mind. That she could think of once she retrieved her sister, her dear, sweet sister. Wan, the most innocent of their group, the only one Su trusted with her life, besides Wing. She had burned down an orphanage, killed children, but had saved Wan. Wan was her comforter, her one act of redemption.

Because she didn't have to save her, het it had been done. Su had placed Wan's safety above her own then, and in her mind, that brought her a twisted solace for the painful deaths of those lost.

Her sister must be saved. They were siblings of the truest kind, this group.

She leaped forward, alighting upon the windowsill with a low thump, turning her paw to Wing and hoisting her up. The window was a difficulty, but with practiced skill, it was opened smoothly and silently, only the sudden breeze giving testament to their actions.

Wan, comfortably placed upon the bed, looked up at them in surprise, her eyes flaming up in a furious mixture of joy, relief, and triumph as she saw her rescuers. She had been right. She knew she was.

Hunzai, his eyes opened slightly, watched Su and Wing climb down from the window in astonishment. The display of sisterly loyalty touched him deeply, restoring his faith in the good nature of others. If three orphans, who most likely had no proper nurturing in their lives, could look out for each other so...

He briefly entertained the idea of letting them escape, but cast it out as quickly as it came. He had a better plan.

With one smooth motion, he slammed the window shut, entrapping all three kittens inside. Their was a scream, and then silence.

Hunzai looked at the three pairs of eyes, watching him with somber fear. He chuckled, then leaned down to Wan.

"It seems you were right..." he told her softly, then turned to Su, who was studying his every move.

"You are quite the loyal sister," he remarked smoothly, lowering himself to her level. "Not many would do such a thing for their closest friend."

Su said nothing, her mouth shut either from fear or cunning.

"Such loyalty... Is a great virtue, do you know that?" Hunzai continued, fixing his eyes on hers.

Those eyes again. They were so cruel, so very old for their young age, but they spoke.

_"We are the eyes of the forgotten." _they said, their voice almost palpable in the eerie night, _"We are the eyes of those who seek and do not find."_

__Hunzai locked her in his gaze once more.

"Such a virtue deserves reward," he said sagely, nodding at her quietly, "I believe circumstances have mistreated you. While I have not fared particularly well, I have a home. I will help you, if I can."

Su finally replied, her voice trembling. For all her strange matureness, the child was in mortal fear.

"What are you talking about?"

"I want you to stay in my house, as my children, if you will. Only if you wish," he explained quickly, "And for only as long as you want. If you do not wish, you may walk out that door."

Hunzai gestured to the door, while nodding to Su.

He answered the message of her eyes with one of his own.

_"You have sought, and now you have found. Welcome home, if welcome you will be."_

Morning found three kittens, seated awkwardly around a breakfast table, eating with a lonely lynx merchant.

* * *

_Author's note: that was a long wait! Sorry people. Don't forget to review!_


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